The Frankenstorm Election

Let’s take a look at the astrology of Election Day here in the U.S., and also revisit the Libra Ingress chart, which I posted about back in September. In that post, I noted that, with Neptune in Pisces in the 4th house of the chart, cast for Washington, DC, “there is the potential for some large-scale watery weather” in the last quarter of the year.

You’ll also note that Uranus rules the 4th in this chart, and is itself in the 5th — my guess is that Sandy will be, as advertised, an unprecedented and remarkably disruptive storm, I expect there will be particular problems in regard to school systems and educational institutions, and, quite possibly, technical problems within the NY Stock Exchange. I am concerned about health and sanitation issues in the aftermath of the storm, and we also can’t ignore the likelihood of lingering storm-related problems interfering with voting on Election Day.

The astrology of Election Day this year is chaotic, and, like Sandy, unprecedented. This is only the second time in the history of U.S. elections that Mercury has stationed on Election Day. The first time was in 2000, when it stationed direct (and you remember what happened then. Hanging chads, anyone?) This year, it stations retrograde in the 12th house of the U.S. chart (Sibley), in mutual reception with Jupiter, also retrograde, in Gemini in the 7th house, conjunct the Descendent. Regardless of storm-related problems, I believe these aspects will reflect legal challenges around the elections, and with transiting Mercury trining transiting Uranus in Aries, these challenges will be widely seen as confrontations over personal and religious freedoms and rights.

There are a number of things that fascinate me about the Election Day transits. (I’m primarily working with a chart for 6:04 p.m. In Washington, DC — the moment Mercury goes retrograde.) The Leo Moon begins the day square to Saturn, and, by the time the polls close it has squared the Sun — the waning quarter square. Both Saturn and the Sun are in Scorpio. But the Moon also trines Uranus, and Mercury early in the day, then moves to sextile Jupiter. In a mundane chart, the Moon, along with the Ascendant and the Ascendant ruler, indicates the people of a country. I also see a lot of Scorpio/Pluto energy in both the election day chart and the Libra Ingress chart. These configurations suggest to me that there will be considerable popular push-back against any attempt at corporate, religious, or government control of personal freedoms, and that there will be attempts at -- or at least, perceptions of -- such control. I suspect many people will think that no matter who sits in the White House, Goldman Sachs -- or, at least, the plutocracy -- is the real winner.

So, my take on Election Day is that a large swath of the country will still be recovering from Sandy (and it’s possible the military may even be brought in to assist). Because of this (and maybe other interferences as well) there will be technical issues around getting the votes in and counted. There will also be legal challenges to one or more of the elections, as well as considerable popular upheaval, argument, and even rage amidst themes of freedom vs. control. These problems will not go away quickly. I expect we won’t see any resolution until the early December Sun-Jupiter opposition I mentioned in my post on Jupiter retrograde, and perhaps not until Mercury again reaches 4 degrees of Sagittarius — the degree where it went retrograde — right around the Winter Solstice. We have some powerful eclipses coming up in November that will also play into the aftermath of both Sandy and the election — I’ll be discussing those in a future post. I would like to think that most of these problems will manifest as side issues to a clear presidential election, but I am not hopeful.

Another theme I see playing out around the election is one of truth vs. "truthiness". Mercury goes retrograde square Neptune, Jupiter is Rx in Gemini, and…did I mention all that Scorpio energy floating around? Scandals, legal actions, accusations of improper and deceptive behavior, and major miscommunications are all likely to be in the headlines, as are the exposure of secrets and high-profile temper tantrums.

Well, that’s all for this week. Oh, wait…I bet you want to know who I think will win. With this astrology, anything is possible, but this astrologer’s money (figuratively) is on Obama.

Blessings of protection and safety go out to all of you under threat from Sandy. Until next week!

Diotima Mantineia began studying astrology in 1968, taking classes from Zoltan Mason in New York City. For the next 22 years, she practiced astrology only for herself and her friends, continuing her studies while watching an increasingly humanistic, psychologically oriented, modern astrology blossom through the work of leading astrologers such as Noel Tyl, Liz Greene, Rob Hand, Marion March, Stephen Arroyo and Howard Sasportas. In 1986, Diotima began her study of Wicca and started reading Tarot, discovering that she is a gifted intuitive. In 1991, she began practicing both astrology and Tarot professionally. She majored in plant and soil science both in college and grad school, and grows much of her own food and "materia magica" on her land in the mountains of western North Carolina. Diotima’s personal spiritual path is rooted in the Western mystery traditions, the principles of Yoga, and a profound connection with the natural world. Wicca gives structure to her spiritual journey, and she utilizes shamanic practices for healing and to live in harmony with Nature. Over 15 years of studying Chinese martial arts has given her a deep appreciation of Taoist thought which has strongly influenced her magical and personal philosophy. You can find her at www.uraniaswell.com